PETALING JAYA – The Pakatan Harapan (PH) presidential council has demanded that Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin hold a discussion session on Budget 2021 before tabling it in Parliament.
In a joint press statement after the council’s meeting today, the party leaders said that this is required to achieve the objectives laid out by Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
“Therefore, the prime minister must carry out the decrees of His Majesty Yang di-Pertuan Agong by holding a discussion and negotiation with opposition parties on the contents of Budget 2021 before it is tabled in Parliament on November 6, so it will achieve the objectives laid out by His Majesty.
“The presidential council is confident that all MPs involved will engage in a healthy debate to ensure that Budget 2021 will prioritise the country and the people, as well as achieving the aspirations decreed by His Majesty,” said the joint statement signed by PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu.
Other party leaders seen leaving after the two-and-a-half-hour long meeting which began at around 4pm include DAP’s Gobind Singh Deo and Lim Kit Siang, Amanah’s Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad and PH chief secretary Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution.
With the exception of PKR communications chief Fahmi Fadzil and Saifuddin, the other political leaders kept mum when approached by the press.
Saifuddin merely told reporters to wait for a joint statement that will be issued by Fahmi.
On Sunday, Sultan Abdullah had refused to grant his assent for Muhyiddin to invoke Emergency Powers for a political lockdown.
However, the Ruler also gave the prime minister a lifeline by requesting federal lawmakers not to scuttle the 2021 budget in the greater interest of the nation.
Speculation has been rife that Muhyiddin no longer commands Parliamentary confidence after Anwar dropped a bombshell last month claiming that he has the numbers and that the Pagoh MP’s administration had collapsed.
Anwar who was also granted an audience by the King was advised to follow the constitution in his bid to wrest Putrajaya from Perikatan Nasional (PN). – The Vibes, October 29, 2020
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